Today, December 18, 2014, is International Migrants Day. Caritas Finland joins Caritas Europa in pointing out that Europe has a duty to save lives in the Mediterranean. Please find the full statement from Caritas Europa on the occasion of the International Migrants Rights Day below and as well as here in pdf format.

Europe has a duty to save lives in the Mediterranean

On the occasion of the International Migrants Day, Caritas Europa reminds the EU that Frontex operation Triton will not ensure the rescue of migrants in international waters.

The Mediterranean Sea has become the world’s deadliest migrant crossing. Due to insufficient legal channels for migrants to enter the EU, more than 160,000 desperate people have risked their lives by the end of November to cross the Mediterranean. 45 percent of those arriving to Italy were fleeing the Syrian conflict or the military dictatorship in Eritrea (cf. Proasyl). With 3,420 migrant fatalities in these waters this year, Europe has become the most dangerous destination in the world for “irregular” migration (see IOM report).

Click to view the statement in pdf format.

We all should be more welcoming, creating welcoming societies. And Christmas is per definition a time to revise our welcoming attitudes towards the others. And our politicians must be courageous and visionary enough to challenge anti-migrant attitudes. They must propose a vision of Europe based on solidarity and subsidiarity – and that will put an end to the "globalisation of indifference,” as Pope Francis put it after visiting Lampedusa.

- Jorge Nuño Mayer, Secretary General of Caritas Europa

Caritas Europa regrets the political focus on security and European border controls, as well as the cessation of Mare Nostrum that has saved more than 140,000 people since October 2013. The new Frontex operation ‘Triton’ will not ensure the rescue of migrants in international waters. Rather, Triton will only be active within 30 miles off the Italian coast. This has spread fears that more migrants and refugees will die in their attempt to reach Europe. This approach is not acceptable, as the EU and all Member States have a duty to save lives in the Mediterranean. All EU Member States should contribute to a saving and rescue force.

The European Union and its Member States must act quickly to provide safe and legal entry options for those seeking international protection, such as enabling humanitarian visas and engaging more in refugee resettlement programmes. These measures will only work well once the EU also implements legal channels for labour migration along with it.

Lives are being lost every day at the external borders of the EU. These human tragedies need to be addressed as soon as possible. People come to Europe to seek international protection or to seek a better life. Europe cannot turn a blind eye to these incidents.